Perfect timing! I love Phil's and Danielle's instructional videos, they make things seem to easy. Of course, I had to compare their suggestions on how to get switch while planing right away with the Tricktionary instructions. Phil actually describes two ways:
- Strap-to-strap: the back foot goes straight from the back strap to the second front strap, followed by the old front foot going into the back strap.
- Jibe footwork: the back foot is taken out of the strap, and placed before the strap. The front foot is twisted out, and placed before the back foot heel-to-toe, just like you would during the foot change in a jibe. Then the old back foot goes into the front strap on the other side, and the old front foot goes into the back footstrap.
The Tricktionary shows two different approaches:
- Jibe without foot switch: jibe in the straps, flip the sail, but do not switch the feet - keep sailing in switch stance.
- Three steps forward: take the back foot out and place it in front of the back strap; take the front foot out and place it in front of the front straps; move the old back foot into the front strap while twisting the hips; step the old front foot into the back strap.
I have actually tried both Tricktionary ways at least a few times. The "jibe without foot switch" way works to some extend, but I tend to loose too much speed. Even in a decent planed-through jibe, it is normal to loose 40-50% of your initial speed, so I think this approach works only when well powered on very flat water.
I have had even less success with the "three steps forward" approach. There is not a lot of space for my size-12 feet between the front straps and the mast foot, and things feel a bit claustrophobic if I have both feet forward. My tries usually resulted in crashes, so I have not done many.
I have not tried the two approaches Phil suggests. The strap-to-strap move is clearly the fastest. I checked some trick movies on continentseven.com, but most do not show the foot switch; in the few movies that do, the strap-to-strap entry is most common. That's two good reasons to try it this way.
But using the jibe footwork also seems attractive. The footwork is familiar from thousands and thousands of jibes, so there are fewer new things to learn. That might just make it a bit easier to concentrate on the new things - going fast while being all twisted up. So I'll give this approach a try, too. Don't hold your breath while waiting for a report, though - we got a bit of fresh snow on the ground last night, and below-freezing temperatures in the forecast. The trip to Cape Hatteras can't come soon enough!
